The French Revolution

The French Revolution sections 2 & 4 pt 1

By: Jessica Meador and Claudia Garrote
By: Jessica Meador and Claudia Garrote

Louis XIV
Louis XIV inherited the throne of France in 1643, when he was five years old. His chief minister was Mazarin, who was appointed by Cardinal Richelieu. After Mazarins death in 1661, a 23-year-old Louis decided to become an absolute monarch. Louis believed that he had divine right to rule. He, later on, took the sun as a symbol to represent his absolute power.
o He once said: Ltat cest moi, which is I am the state.

The Estates General did not meet while he was in power and this lasted long after he died.
o The Estates General did not meet for 175 years which was the time between (1641-1789).

In order to strengthen the state he followed Richelieus policies.

o o o o He expanded the bureaucracy Appointed intendants- royal officials to who collected taxes Carried out his policies in the provinces Recruited soldiers
Louis build the French army into the strongest in Europe. The state paid, fed, trained, and supplied up to 300,000 soldiers. (512)

Cardinal Richelieu

King Louis XIV

Louis XIV and the financial troubles he faced.

Louiss finance manager, Jean-Baptiste Colbert helped make France the wealthiest state in Europe, but even though he was such a financial genius, he still could not make enough money to cover the costs of Louiss court and all the foreign wars he fought in.

Versailles
In the county-side near Paris Louis turned a hunting lodge into the greatest building in Europe, the palace of Versailles. Versailles became Louiss symbol of wealth and power. It was both Louiss house and the seat of government since it was the home of nobles, officials, and servants. Louis preformed several rituals such as the leve, which emphasized his own importance.
o The rituals had another reason for them, they lured the noble to Versailles were they were turned into courtiers angling for privileges rather than rivals (512) battling for power.
This was an advantage for Louis because he kept his friends close, but his enemies closer.

The end of Louiss reign

The age of Louis XIV came to be known as the classical age of French drama.(512)
o Ballet, gained its popularity at the French court. It was a form of dance and drama.

Louis ruled France for 72-years and when he died in 1715 France was the strongest European state.
o He invested a lot of money to wage wars to expand Frances boarders, but he was unable because of the balance of power alliances, that did not allow him to do so.

In 1685, Louis retracted the Edict of Nantes which made the Huguenots leave France. This backfired because the Huguenots were the hardest working and most prosperous of Louiss subjects.

Ballet

Edict of Nantes

Timeline of the French Revolution

By July 1789, the poorly paid, unemployed, and hungry people of France had taken up arms. (572) In 1789, France still had the old social system, ancien regime, which divided France intro three estates or social classes:
o First Estate: The Clergy o Second Estate: The Nobility o Third Estate: The vast majority of the population comprised of:
The bourgeoisie-middle class The Urban Workers- poorest

By 1989 half government collected taxes went to paying the interest of the debt of the Seven Years War and the American Revolution. For the first time after 175 years the Estates General convened in May 1789. Delegates of the Third Estate, on June 1789, declared themselves the National Assembly and took the Tennis Court Oath.
o The Tennis Court Oath is called this way because the hall they met in was locked and guarded so they moved their meeting to a tennis court.

On July 14, 1789, an enraged mob broke into the Bastille, they killed the commander and five guards, and released prisoners. The mob did not find weapons, but they had broken into the Bastille which represented for them years of abuse by the monarchy. (577)

Seven Years War

Clergy, Nobles, the rest of the population

Storming of the Bastille Tennis Court Oath

Estates General Meeting

The American Revolution

 In 1789 there was a political crisis that that coincided with the worst famine in memory. Peasants swelled the ranks of unemployment, but people with jobs spent almost 80% of their salary on bread.

Nobles give up their privileges

August 4, nobles in the National Assembly voted to end their own privileges. Feudalism is abolished, and the dawn of a new revolution, when all the burdens weighing on the people were abolished, and France was truly reborn.

 In late august, the Assembly issued the Declaration of the rights of Man and the Citizen. This announced that all men were born and remain free and equal in rights. they enjoyed natural rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

 In 1791, Olympe de Gouges demanded equal rights in her Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen. She proclaimed, Woman is born free and her rights are the same as those of man, and should be equally eligible for public offices, positions, and jobs.

Olympe de Gouges

 On October 5, about six thousand women marched 13 miles in the pouring rain from Paris to Versailles. The women refused to leave Versaille until the king met their most important demand, to return to Paris. He reluctantly agreed.

 In 1790 they issued the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which ended papal authority over the French church and dissolved convents and monasteries.

 The constitution of 1791 set up a limited monarchy in place of the absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries. A new legislative assembly had the power to make laws, collect taxes, and decide on issues of war and peace.

 One night in June 1791, a coach rolled north from Paris toward the border. Inside sat the king disguised as a servant, the queen dressed as a governess, and the royal children. The attempted escape failed.

 In August 1791, the king of Prussia and the emperor of Austria, issued the Declaration of Pilnitz.

 In October 1791, the newly elected Legislative Assembly took office but it survived for less than a year.

 By 1791 many sansculottes wanted a republic.

 In April 1792, the war of words between French revolutionaries and European monarchs moved onto the battlefield, the fighting lasted from 17921815.

Radical Phase of the Revolution

The revolution goes into a radical phase in 1793. A crowd of Parisians stormed the Palace of Tuileries and killed the kings guards on August 10, 1792.
o About 1,200 prisoners, that were held at a nobles and priests prison, were killed a month later.

Storming of the Palace of Tuileries

 In September 1792, the convention that met was even more radical than earlier assemblies.
o Disputes made way for a new constitution in France. o In the early months of the Republic, Louis XVI was put on trial as a traitor of France by the Convention.
Louis was sentenced to death by a single vote. In January 1793, Louis was beheaded and his head was lifted up by its hair for the crowed to see.
Before being executed he said: "Frenchmen, I die innocent. I pardon the authors of my death. I pray God that the blood about to be spilt will never fall upon the head of France" (586)

Louiss wife Marie was also beheaded

In October she was beheaded As she went to her death she showed great dignity

Louis XVI

Marie Antoinette

 France was at war with much of Europe by 1793.

o This included:
Britain The Netherlands Spain Prussia

o The Problem was in France was external

The sans-coulottes demanded relief from food shortages and inflation. (587)

Spain at war with much of Europe

Sanscoulottes

Committee of Public Safety

Robespierre

The Convention created the Committee of Public Safety

o It was composed of 12 members
They had almost all the power They were in charge of trials and executions

Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)- he was a shrewd lawyer and politician, quickly rose to the leadership of the Committee of Public Safety.(587)
o He earned the nickname the incorruptible because of his selfless dedication to the revolution. o He embraced Rosseaus idea of the general will as the source of all legitimate law. (587) o He believed that France could achieve a republic of virtue only through the use of terror.(587) o He was one of the chief creators of the French Revolution

Reign of Terror
It lasted from September 1793 to July 1794. Robespierre gave a speech on February 5, 1794 , where he explains why the terror was necessary to achieve the goal of revolution.
o He said terror was necessary:
to stifle the domestic and foreign enemies of the republic or perish with them. (587)

Those who resisted the revolution were suspects.

o Around 300,000 were arrested during the Reign of Terror.(588)

Reign of Terror

Maximilien Robespierre

The Guillotine
The Guillotine was the engine of the Reign of Terror.(588)
o It was introduced by Dr. Joseph Guillotine
He introduced it as a more humane way of executing people rather than the ax.
Because of its fast-falling blade it took life away instantly.

It quickly became a symbol of horror.(588)

Dr. Joseph Guillotine

 "Within a year, the Terror consumed those who initiated it. The members of the Convention turned on the Committee of Public Safety. (588)
o Robespierre
Was arrested
On the night of July 27, 1794

o Was executed the next day

Committee of Public Safety

Robespierres execution

Third stage of the Revolution

With this the Revolution begins its third stage
o In it moderates created a third constitution since the first in 1789.
"The Constitution of 1795 set up a five man directory and a two house legislature elected by male citizens of property. (589) The Directory had power from (1795-1799)

The Directory
The Directory
o "Was weak but dictatorial & faced growing discontent(589) o "Made peace with Prussia and Spain.(589) o Threats to Directory
When the sans-culottes rioted because of rising bread prices (the directory rapidly suppressed them) Another threat was the revival of royalist feeling.
"In the election of 1797, supporters of a constitutional monarchy won the majority of the seats in the legislature.(589)

Napoleon Bonaparte
In the time of chaos, politicians turned to Napoleon Bonaparte.
o He was a "popular military hero who won a series of brilliant victories against Austria in Italy."
The politicians planned on using him to advance their own goals
BUT, he outwit them all and became ruler of France.

 By 1799 France had been dramatically changed by the 10year French Revolution. It had:
o Dislodged the old social order o Overthrew the monarchy o & brought the Church under state control

 Liberty was confirmed by :

o The red "liberty caps" o The tricolor- which confirmed liberty to all citizens
The title 'citizen' applied to all social classes. All of the other titles were eliminated. Louis was called Citizen Capet before being executed.
Elaborate fashions and wigs made way for practical clothes and simple haircuts of the sans-coulottes.

Red liberty caps

National Identity
The Revolution and war gave people a strong sense of national identity.
o Then: "As monarchs centralized power, loyalty shifted to the king or queen. (590) o Now: "The government rallied sons and daughters of the revolution to defend the nation itself. (590)
This made Nationalism- a strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's county- spread through France.
"A variety of dances and songs on themes of the revolution became immensely popular.(590) "By 1793, France was a nation in arms(590) In the port of Marseilles troops marched to a rousing new song": "La Marseillaise"- which is to this day the French national anthem

 "Revolutionaries pushed for social reform and religious toleration(590)

Revolutionaries:
Set up state schools Organized systems to help the poor, old soldiers, and war widows. Slavery was abolished when a major slave revolt occurred in the Caribbean colony of St. Dominique (Haiti).

French in Haiti

 In December 1793, he drove British forces out of the French port of Toulon. He went on to be victorious against the Austrians, capturing most of northern Italy and forcing the Hapsburg emperor to make peace.

 The battle of Pyramids took place on July 21, 1798.

 By 1799, he helped overthrow the weak Directory and set-up a three-man governing board, known as the Consulate.

 In 1800, he forced Spain to return Louisiana Territory to France.

 In 1802 Napoleon made himself consul for life.

 In 1804, Napoleon acquired the title Emperor of the French.

 Napoleon made peace with the Catholic Church in the Concordant of 1801.
The concordant kept the Church under state control but recognized religious freedom from Catholics. This symbolized the separation of church and state.

 From 1804-1812, Napoleon successfully battled against the greatest European powers and came to dominate most of Europe.

 By 1812, his Grand Empire reached its greatest extent.

 Napoleon annexed the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Italy and Germany into his Empire.

 Napoleon created a 38member Confederation of the Rhine under French protection. Transforming a part of Poland into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.

 he placed his own brother, Joseph Bonaparte on the throne.

 In 1805, Napoleon prepared to invade England but at the battle of Trafalgar, fought off the southwest coast of Spain, British Admiral Horatio Nelson smashed the French fleet.

 British attacks on the American ships sparked anger in the United States and eventually triggered the war of 1812.

 In the end, Napoleons Continental System failed to overthrow Britain completely.

 The restrictions in trade this create had Europe in a shortage of goods and made people resent France.

 The Napoleonic Code influenced many countries in Europe and Latin America.

Napoleon's empire faces challenges

"In 1812 Napoleon continued his pursuit for world domination." (596)
o "Napoleon's successes contained seeds of defeat. Many Europeans resented the Continental System and Napoleon's effort to impose French culture on them. (596) o "From Rome to Madrid to the Netherlands, nationalism unleashed a revolt against France.(596)

Resentment of the Continental System

 "In 1805, at the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon had won a crushing victory against an Austro-Russian army of superior number.(597) In 1809, the Austrians sought revenge, but Napoleon once again triumphed. "In 1812 with about 600,000 soldiers and 50,000 horses, Napoleon invaded Russia" who was once an ally of Napoleon.
o To avoid fighting Napoleon the Russians retreated eastward and burned crops and villages which left the French hungry and cold in winter.
For the French the 1000 mile retreat from Moscow was a battle of survival. "Napoleon's reputation for success had been shattered.(597)

Battle of Austerlitz

Russians burn crops and villages

Napoleon is forced into exile

In 1813 the alliance of Russia, Britain, Austria, and Prussia defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig.
o The alliance sent him to exile in Elba, "an island in the Mediterranean.(598)

Louis XVIII tried to restore himself as the ruler but this not go well. Although he agreed to accept the Napoleonic Code and honor the land settlements made during the revolution.

Napoleon Forced into exile on Elba

Battle of Leipzig

Napoleon comes out of exile and into it again

Napoleon came out of exile and Louis the XVIII fled France as the people cheered on Napoleon. Napoleon entered Paris in March 1815. Napoleon's time in France lasted only 100 days. On June 18, 1815 the Duke of Wellington along with the British forces defeat the French in a day-long battle, the Battle of Waterloo, which forced Napoleon to abdicate and go back into exile. This time he went to St. Helena, "a lonely island in the South Atlantic(598). Napoleon died in 1812, but his legacy still lives.
o He did not succeed at making Euro a French empire. Instead, he incited nationalist spirits all throughout Europe.

Napoleon's decision to sell the Louisiana Territory in 1803 to the American government doubled the size of the United States and "ushered in an age of American expansion."

Napoleon returns from exile

Napoleon sent to exile in St. Helena.

Napoleon sells the Louisiana territory.

Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, diplomats and heads of state "faced the monumental task of restoring stability and order in Europe after years of war."(599) The Congress met in September 1814 to June 1814. (lasted 10 months).
o "The chief goal of the Vienna decision makers was to create a lasting peace by establishing a balance of power and protecting the system of monarchy." (600)

 Each of the leaders of the congress followed their own goals

o Metternich of Austria- who was the prevalent figure at the Congress, "wanted to restore things to the way there were in 1792"(600). o Tsar Alexander I of Russia- "urged a 'holy alliance' of Christian monarchs to suppress future revolutions."(600) o Lord Robert Castlereagh of Britain- "was determined to prevent a revival of French military power." (600) o Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (represented France)- "he shrewdly played the other leaders against one another so France would be accepted as an equal partner."(600)

Prince Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Metternich of Austria

Tsar Alexander I of Russia

Lord Robert Castlereagh of Britain

 The leaders redrew the map of Europe by containing French ambition with strong countries. Going back to 1792 the peacemakers promoted the principle of legitimacy, which restored the hereditary monarchy which had been overthrown by Napoleon during the French Revolution.
o Before the congress began they had put Louis XVIII as king of France o Then, they restored monarchs in Portugal, Spain, and the Italian states.

"To protect the new order, Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain extended their wartime alliance into the postwar era."(600)
o They formed the Quadruple Alliance- were the four nations promised "to maintain the balance of power and to suppress revolutionary uprisings."(600)

The redrawn map

The Quadruple Alliance

 Concert of Europe
o A system, that resulted of the Congress, which met periodically to discuss problems that affected the peace of Europe.

The Vienna statesmen achieved the immediate goals which were to create a lasting peace.
o For the next 100 years, their decision influenced European politics o Until 1914 Europe did not see war on a Napoleonic scale. o Yet, they "failed to foresee how powerful new forces such as nationalism would shake the foundation of Europe and Latin America in the next decades."(600)

Enlightenment ideas
Maximilien Robespierre embraced Rousseau's idea of the general will as the source of all legitimate law.(587)

Maximilen Robespierre

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Enlightenment Ideas vs. French Revolution

Enlightenment Ideas
Thomas Hobbes- believed that people were naturally cruel, greedy, and selfish. John Locke- had a completely different view on human nature. He believed people were reasonable and moral and that they had certain natural rights such as the right to life, liberty, and property.

French Revolution
Monarchs, such as Louis XVI proved Thomas Hobbes correct because he was living an extremely lavish life while the French people were dying of hunger. John Lockes idea is contradictory when applying it to the revolution because the people of France eliminated the monarchy with the guillotine therefore taking away their right to life. Yet, this way the people of France acquired the right to liberty and property.

Continuation
Enlightenment Ideas
Voltaire used biting wit as a weapon to expose the abuses of his day. He targeted corrupt officials and idle aristocrats. With his pen, he battled inequality, injustice, and superstition. He detested the slave trade and deplored religious prejudice. (546) Montesquieu criticized absolute monarchy. And he believed that the best way to protect liberty was to divide the various functions and powers of government among three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial.

French Revolution
The French Revolutions main goal was to obtain liberty and equality for all men. Revolutionaries abolished slavery when a major slave revolt occurred in the Caribbean colony of St. Dominique (Haiti). The Constitution of 1795 set up a five-man Directory and a twohouse legislature elected by male citizens of property. (588-589) In the Revolution the monarchy was dethroned. Louis and MarieAntoinette were executed.

Immediate causes The government had a huge debt to pay.

Immediate effects Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen adopted. The first written constitution in France was implemented. France fights the alliances of European powers. King and queen were executed, abolishing the monarchy. The Reign of Terror.

Prices of bread rose and there were poor harvests. Louis XVI refused financial reforms.

The National Assembly was formed.

Storming of the Bastille.

Long-term causes Leadership of the time was inconsistent and corrupt.

Long-term effects Napoleon gains power and was the first strong ruler France had had in a long time. Napoleonic Code is established. French public schools were set up for kids in the Third Estate. French victories spread nationalism throughout. The congress of Vienna was summoned to restore stability to Europe. Revolutions occurring elsewhere in Europe.

The Third Estate resents the first and second Estate advantage in life. The spread of enlightenment ideas throughout France.

American Revolution There were many revolts by the colonists such as the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre; this can be compared with events in the French revolution such as the Storming of the Bastille and the march of the 13,000 women. The American Revolution influenced the French Revolution. Marquis de Lafayette was an admirer of the Declaration of Independence and was inspired by it to write the first draft of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

English Revolution During this time, England went through a shift in political power. After this, Locke wrote that if a government fails its obligations or violates peoples natural rights, the people have the right to overthrow the government. (545) this statement later influenced the French Declaration.

Both revolutions leaders were considered very good. Robespierre was called incorruptible and George Washington was so successful he went on to become the first president of the United States.
The Framers of the Constitution had studied the history and captivated the ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. The French declaration stated that all men enjoyed the natural rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. similar to the writings of Locke and the philosophes, it insisted that governments exist to protect the natural rights of the citizens. (579)

Summary of the French Revolution

The French Revolution was a 10-year strife that started in1789. It was a revolt of the people of France against the abuses of the monarchy. While the monarchy was enjoying luxuries in Versailles, the people of France were starving. Then the Third Estate formed the National Assembly to protect their own interests. They also formed the Council and the Directory. In the midst of the French Revolution and ambitious, young general, Napoleon Bonaparte emerged and even crowned himself ruler of France. After being exiled twice he died in 1812, yet his legacy still live. Then came the Congress of Vienna who wanted to maintain a balance of power and although this worked for 100 years they did see a Napoleonic scale war in 1914.